I'm an American girl, born and raised, and a Muslim.

Once More, From the Top

So, after a rough start to the year, I decided to put myself out there again try speed dating once more. Armed with a very cute new outfit and a positive attitude, away I went. Here’s the recap:

So, despite my planning otherwise, I arrived on time. The event was supposed start at 7pm, but the organizers always give you 30 minutes to “mingle” before the actual speed dating portion of the evening. As Muslims are not really minglers, I’ve tried to plan it to arrive closer to 7:30 than 7:00. Anyway, this evening, I arrived shortly after 7pm and ended up speaking with a few repeaters before the main event, including …

Bachelor #1, Mr. Judgmental Again. So, I’ve seen him a few times before. He seems less judgmental today, or maybe I’m just more desperate; I’m not sure. We talked about movies and other general topics – conversation was easy, but I still remember our past conversations. Was I being too judgmental about him? Hmm. Food for thought.

Bachelor #2, Mr. Maybe-Pakistani. So this guy claimed he was from Pakistan, but his accent sounded very eastern-European (as did his looks and name). We talked about general topics. He mentioned repeatedly how he was “newly single” and, as he seemed to be at least 10 or more years older than me, I thought he may even have kids he hasn’t mentioned. He kept telling me that “I was interesting” – which I am – but in a mildly creepy way. And while he certainly could have been from Pakistan (even I am somewhat light-skinned in comparison to other American-Paki counterparts), I just got the impression he was being untruthful.

Bachelor #3, Mr. Earwax. So this guy chatted me up during the “mingling” portion of the event. When we chatting during the speed dating portion, he seemed sweet but I was unimpressed. And then he picked his ear with his finger. And then looked at it. And then flicked away the wax. All while still talking to me. Ew. Ew ew ew ew. He also tried to chat me up after the event, but I left to catch my cab. Ew.

Bachelor #4, Mr. Political. So this guy was also older, which isn’t necessarily a problem. He looked older than me, but not decades older. But most of the conversation was about him and how involved he is in politics both here and in his home country (which is not Pakistan, but is undergoing a revolution at the moment). He went on to say how much he loves to talk politics (but based on his comments, I can infer he may have been against the revolution) and to have people over to his house for long political discussions. And that caused little red flags to rise in my head. Something seemed off about him. Sigh.

Bachelor #5, Another Repeater. So this guy has also appeared a few times. I don’t remember what I called him, but he made it clear after our first meeting that my height (which nears the 6 feet range) didn’t work for him (he is more than a little shorter than 6 feet). He wasn’t mean about it, and honestly we had a nice time chatting but it’s just not meant to be. And then he made some comment about how he noticed how tall I was when he “followed me home” – yes, he actually said it – but then immediately went on to say that he meant he noticed my height when I got up to leave to go home. Okay. Unfortunately, I am no stranger to creepy, ill-motived guys trying to follow me home. I don’t think he actually did follow me (I’ve never seen anyone follow my cabs home before, and I look), but I don’t know what to make of him. I say a prayer and move on to the next round.

Bachelor #6, Mr. Classical-with-a-Twist. So this guy and I hit it off after we discovered a mutual history of violin playing. He still plays, though now it’s electric violin (hence the twist). We chatted about music and the gigs he plays as a violinist (which is his side gig). I mentioned that there’s usually a need for classical musicians during Christmas (for parties and the like) and he mentioned that he (and his Christian family!) plays at their church. I felt as though I was a broken roller coaster – my hopes went up and up and up and then zoomed down, down, down super fast, and then just stopped. Sigh.

Bachelor #7, Mr. Potential Yet Again. We mingled at the beginning, and spent time catching up during the speed dating portion of the evening. He still seems nice (and still has lovely hands) and still seems uninterested in me. Moving on…

Bachelor #8, Mr. Unintended Speed Dater. So this guy came with a friend (see Bachelor #9 below) who neglected to tell him that they were going to a speed dating event. #9 only told him that they were going to go downtown for the evening, so he was blindsided by the whole thing. He was a good sport about it and seemed sweet, but he’ll be returning to his home country this year permanently so it’s just not meant to be.

Bachelor #9, Mr. Semper Fi. So this guy is another non-Muslim. His friend, #8, was a Muslim so he brought him to meet new people. I think that shows kindness on his part; he was willing to go to a speed dating event to help out a friend who didn’t really know other Muslims in the city even though he was not a Muslim himself. He was funny, a Marine (hence the Semper Fi reference), and he was lovely to look at. Sigh.

Bachelor #10, Mr. Maybe Repeater. So I think I’ve seen this guy before though I can’t quite remember him. We chatted about sports and made general conversation, but he was quick to deflect any question about himself onto me. Not a good sign.

And that’s all for this evening. More women than men, as usual, but I had high hopes. Of all these guys, Mr. Judgmental seems the most compatible. Well, we’ll see what happens…